just throwing it out there but is it at all feasible to revamp the MLK with a double deck?
- 359
It's too bad the City of St. Louis essentially gave up on the MacArthur Bridge.
- 476
Frankly, I think the new option has the best chance of coming to fruition.
So embarrassing... gotta love those outstate hicks.. Thank you Blunt. How conveniently quiet you have been...
- 710
JCity wrote:So embarrassing... gotta love those outstate hicks.. Thank you Blunt. How conveniently quiet you have been...
has anyone tried MISSOURI HICK BBQ, so plainly displayed on an exit information sign on I-44 towards rolla?
Announcement on Mississippi River bridge could come as early as next month
Zia Nizami/BND
Mary Lamie of the Illinois Department of Transportation speaks during the information forum on the new Mississippi River Bridge at the Scottrade center in St. Louis on Tuesday afternoon.
PREVIOUS STORIES: Missouri drops demand for a new toll bridge (5/24/2007)
Blagojevich says 'never' to toll bridge (6/29/2006)
BY MIKE FITZGERALD
News-Democrat
ST. LOUIS --Missouri and Illinois transportation leaders could announce plans for a new Mississippi River bridge as early as next month, a prominent Missouri lawmaker told business executives Tuesday.
But State Rep. Neal St. Onge, R-St. Louis County, like other leaders who spoke during an informational forum about the long-delayed span, ruled out any announcement until after Illinois lawmakers approve a budget for the 2008 fiscal year.
Discussions over the bridge between the neighboring states are going well, "and probably in a month or two months you'll probably hear an announcement. That is my hope," St. Onge told about 100 executives who showed up for the forum at the Scottrade Center.
No one can say when Illinois will pass a budget, however. Gov. Rod Blagojevich and statehouse leaders have been locked in a contest of wills for more than months, resulting in the longest overtime session in General Assembly history.
The forum Tuesday was organized by Winning Women, a networking group for female executives; Ameren Corp. served as the major sponsor.
St. Onge, along with other leaders invited to the forum, spoke optimistically about prospects for the $1 billion project, which in its original incarnation would be built about a mile north of the Martin Luther King Bridge, in East St. Louis.
Mary Lamie, the Illinois Department of Transportation engineer for District 5, in Collinsville, was the only Illinois representative to speak at the forum.
State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, and Milton Sees, the acting IDOT director, had been invited, but couldn't attend because of legislative business in Springfield.
Lamie shared the upbeat mood, which was bolstered in recent months by progress achieved in high level, closed-door discussions between IDOT and Missouri transportation officials over the bridge's future, which includes efforts to seek out any available taxpayer dollars build the span.
So far both states have accrued about $550 million for the project, including $239 million that Congress earmarked two years ago. But with a $1 billion price tag, the project still needs nearly $500 million. And every month it is delayed, that's another $3 million added to the cost because of inflation.
The two-year delay in striking a deal on a plan for the bridge stems from Missouri's demand to build the bridge as a tollway, with a private sector firm buying rights to operate the span and recouping its investment with a long-term contract. But Missouri leaders ended the impasse in May, when they dropped the tollway demand.
"At this point we're not considering tolls," Lamie said.
Ed Hassinger, the Missouri Department of Transportation engineer for St. Louis, agreed that Missouri is leaning away from the tollway idea, but it has not been ruled out completely.
continued...
http://www.bnd.com/homepage/story/99564.html
Zia Nizami/BND
Mary Lamie of the Illinois Department of Transportation speaks during the information forum on the new Mississippi River Bridge at the Scottrade center in St. Louis on Tuesday afternoon.
PREVIOUS STORIES: Missouri drops demand for a new toll bridge (5/24/2007)
Blagojevich says 'never' to toll bridge (6/29/2006)
BY MIKE FITZGERALD
News-Democrat
ST. LOUIS --Missouri and Illinois transportation leaders could announce plans for a new Mississippi River bridge as early as next month, a prominent Missouri lawmaker told business executives Tuesday.
But State Rep. Neal St. Onge, R-St. Louis County, like other leaders who spoke during an informational forum about the long-delayed span, ruled out any announcement until after Illinois lawmakers approve a budget for the 2008 fiscal year.
Discussions over the bridge between the neighboring states are going well, "and probably in a month or two months you'll probably hear an announcement. That is my hope," St. Onge told about 100 executives who showed up for the forum at the Scottrade Center.
No one can say when Illinois will pass a budget, however. Gov. Rod Blagojevich and statehouse leaders have been locked in a contest of wills for more than months, resulting in the longest overtime session in General Assembly history.
The forum Tuesday was organized by Winning Women, a networking group for female executives; Ameren Corp. served as the major sponsor.
St. Onge, along with other leaders invited to the forum, spoke optimistically about prospects for the $1 billion project, which in its original incarnation would be built about a mile north of the Martin Luther King Bridge, in East St. Louis.
Mary Lamie, the Illinois Department of Transportation engineer for District 5, in Collinsville, was the only Illinois representative to speak at the forum.
State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, and Milton Sees, the acting IDOT director, had been invited, but couldn't attend because of legislative business in Springfield.
Lamie shared the upbeat mood, which was bolstered in recent months by progress achieved in high level, closed-door discussions between IDOT and Missouri transportation officials over the bridge's future, which includes efforts to seek out any available taxpayer dollars build the span.
So far both states have accrued about $550 million for the project, including $239 million that Congress earmarked two years ago. But with a $1 billion price tag, the project still needs nearly $500 million. And every month it is delayed, that's another $3 million added to the cost because of inflation.
The two-year delay in striking a deal on a plan for the bridge stems from Missouri's demand to build the bridge as a tollway, with a private sector firm buying rights to operate the span and recouping its investment with a long-term contract. But Missouri leaders ended the impasse in May, when they dropped the tollway demand.
"At this point we're not considering tolls," Lamie said.
Ed Hassinger, the Missouri Department of Transportation engineer for St. Louis, agreed that Missouri is leaning away from the tollway idea, but it has not been ruled out completely.
continued...
http://www.bnd.com/homepage/story/99564.html
- 1,768
Interesting...that article makes it sound as though they've come full circle to the original design. Perhaps? I'm pessimistically optimistic...
- 11K
Rightly or wrongly, the MN bridge collapse may give this enough urgency to be built and a shiny new bridge suddenly seems more attractive - I imagine that people will be jockying to make this announcement.
This really would be wonderful news. We need the extra capacity anyway, and especially if the PSB or King need to be taken out of service for major repairs, we would be screwed without a new bridge.
- 362
I would not count on the original design because if they built that it would make Missouri officials look like idiots because Illinois would have gotten what it wanted in the beginning without tolls. Of course, we all know that they are idiots already, but I am sure they want to save face. Never underestimate the stupidity of the officials in Jefferson City. I would assume we will wind up with Missouri's 4 lane plan.
- 11K
^ I though the coupler was an IL idea and the original bridge was the MO idea - though with tolls.
Hmm...I'm thinking that there might be a large transportation infrastructure bill passed relatively soon. I know it would be a bad idea to wait, but wouldn't it be a shame if MO & IL came to an agreement to build the half-assed version of the bridge and then a funding bill is passed, which might have provided funding for the fully-assed version of the bridge?
4 lanes?! 
So, it will NOT carry I-70 then? So, we have 10 lanes on Page extension into St. Charles County but FOUR lanes will carry I-70 over the MISSISSIPPI at downtown St. Louis?!?! W.T,F is going on here!? seriously, it's really cute and funny how these outstate hicks are preventing St. Louis from having a WORLD CLASS bridge installed downtown. They think its so neat to exacerbate sprawl from st. louis city/ county into floodplains in MissouRAH and St. Charles County, but will only offer a FOUR lane bridge to Illinois? This is one pissed off X state republican. WHO are the people preventing this? is it MODOT? Is it BLUNT? I want names! Where is Bond, McCaskil on this?
So, it will NOT carry I-70 then? So, we have 10 lanes on Page extension into St. Charles County but FOUR lanes will carry I-70 over the MISSISSIPPI at downtown St. Louis?!?! W.T,F is going on here!? seriously, it's really cute and funny how these outstate hicks are preventing St. Louis from having a WORLD CLASS bridge installed downtown. They think its so neat to exacerbate sprawl from st. louis city/ county into floodplains in MissouRAH and St. Charles County, but will only offer a FOUR lane bridge to Illinois? This is one pissed off X state republican. WHO are the people preventing this? is it MODOT? Is it BLUNT? I want names! Where is Bond, McCaskil on this?- 2,005
The four-lane span will carry I-70, but I believe the delay now is trying to figure out where the span will connect in Illinois. Either at I-64 or near the Racetrack in Madison. Hopefully the bridge is built so that another parallel span can be built next to it in the future a la Boone or Blanchette.
- 2,093
If you had lived in St. Charles in the 90's following the bridge politics was enough to make you sick! Conservative Republicans (remember when they were watchdogs of public waste?--yeah neither do I!) ran for election and reelection on getting the Page extension done post haste!
Getting 370 done in 1992 wasn't good enough for them, they called it a "bridge to nowhere"
If anyone asked why another bridge was needed between 70 and 40 they were given some kind of spiel about "progress" and, kid you not, County Executive Joe Ortwerth actually compared suburban sprawl to 19th Century pioneers who came west.
Getting 370 done in 1992 wasn't good enough for them, they called it a "bridge to nowhere"
If anyone asked why another bridge was needed between 70 and 40 they were given some kind of spiel about "progress" and, kid you not, County Executive Joe Ortwerth actually compared suburban sprawl to 19th Century pioneers who came west.
Anyone care to bet whether the new (just asked for this week) Sikeston bridge gets built before a new St. Louis bridge gets built?
I've heard pissed off people over here say, since we would pay for almost the entire bridge, to let them build the toll bridge and let everyone with Illinois plates pass for free and make everyone with out-of-state plates pay the toll.
- 11K
brickandmortar wrote:The four-lane span will carry I-70, but I believe the delay now is trying to figure out where the span will connect in Illinois. Either at I-64 or near the Racetrack in Madison. Hopefully the bridge is built so that another parallel span can be built next to it in the future a la Boone or Blanchette.
Hold on - The four-lane bridge would be the coupler (I thought) and so we would have four lanes in one direction and the existing three in the other.
- 2,005
^what's being talked about now is building the span where it was originally proposed albeit only 2 lanes each direction.
Grover wrote:^ I though the coupler was an IL idea and the original bridge was the MO idea - though with tolls.
The original was the idea of both states. Missouri added the toll idea. Illinois later proposed the coupler (which I personally think was a bluff). Now, it looks like they both want the original again, but with less lanes. That's my understanding of it.
- 362
It would be silly to build that big, expensive cable stay bridge with anything less than 8 lanes. I suppose I could see 6, but 4 makes no sense whatsoever.
- 1,610
What about going with MODOT's preferred location north of Cass Avenue for now only a four-lane bridge, but still building such four-lane bridge as WB I-70, thereby relocating EB I-70 to a converted three-lane MLK?
Operationally, such compromise functions like the MLK-Coupler Plan but uses a unidirectional, westbound I-64 Connector from the Tri-Level Interchange in East St. Louis in order to build a bridge in MODOT's preferred location north of Cass Avenue. That way, MODOT can't complain that past environmental studies go to waste, while IDOT still gets seven toll-free lanes for a truly functional I-70 similar to their MLK-Coupler Plan.
Operationally, such compromise functions like the MLK-Coupler Plan but uses a unidirectional, westbound I-64 Connector from the Tri-Level Interchange in East St. Louis in order to build a bridge in MODOT's preferred location north of Cass Avenue. That way, MODOT can't complain that past environmental studies go to waste, while IDOT still gets seven toll-free lanes for a truly functional I-70 similar to their MLK-Coupler Plan.
I really hope NO ONE on this forum votes for a statewide republican in the next election. I know I will not ever again. A FOUR lane bridge carrying the nations major east west interstate at St. Louis?! yet, a NON interstate is TEN lanes into suburban sprawl st louis. UnFingbelievable. I just sit back and smile knowing that St. Charles will be nice and ghetto within 20 years...Oh I look forward to the day when everyone floors it farther west to Wentzville. Sorry St. CHUCKy.. There you go Joe Ortwerth.
My satire of this whole issue would have Missouri paying the least, and the state of Illinois and the feds paying the most. Oh, and being that Missouri pays the least, that automatically gives them naming rights. I‘m sure it‘ll be called, "America's Freedom Family Bridge," or some crap like that.